Asia is the largest continent on earth. Along with its eastern and the far larger land mass known as Eurasia, it extends from Arctic Ocean in the north to Indian Ocean in the south. It stretches from the shores of the Mediterranean in the west to Pacific Ocean in the East. Embracing one third of the earth's land surface, it covers an enormous area of seventeen million square miles-and holding over half of its population-its inhabitants numbering into thousands of millions-it displays every form of variety, scenic, climatic and racial.

From the very early times, Asia has been known as the cradle of human civilization. It is also the birthplace of the world's greatest revealed religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Nature has worked here mightily. Mountains, deserts, rivers and forests almost obscure the work of man by the reason of their vastness. However, man's labors in Asia have been sufficiently striking, for its inhabitants have created a storied history of and a treasury of art and achievement. Today, Asia's ancient architectural treasures are present in unsurpassed abundance for all to see and lie by the side of man's most modern achievements.

In the Arab World, Syria was the land of the ancient Phoenicians who founded the city of Carthage and invented the alphabet. It is unrivalled for its archaeological riches. At Baalbek, the ancient Heliopolis in Lebanon is one of the most magnificent relics of the Roman occupation. Damascus, the capital of Syria and the oldest living city in the world, is renowned for its garden, its "damascene" sword-blades, and its mosaic decorated Umayyad Mosque.

The Holy Land of Palestine is only slightly larger than Wales but is of worldwide renown as a land that is holy to Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. But it is in Jerusalem, "the joy of the whole earth" that the chief interest centers. The Jews and the Christians consider the land holy as it contains some of its religious and historical sites. The Dome of the Rock and the famous Masjid al-Aqsa found in the Old City of Jerusalem is the most sacred place of worship to Muslims after the cities of Makkah and Madinah.

On the eastern boundary is the great rift, the torrid valley of Jordan, one of the world's chief wonders. The River Jordan flows through the Sea of Galilee into the Dead Sea, which lying 1292 feet below the level of Mediterranean, is the lowest spot on the earth's surface and one of the most desolate. Today, the waterpower of the River Jordan is being harnessed; the Potash deposits of the Dead Sea, which is five times as salty as the ocean is being exploited. Jordan also includes within its boundaries Petra, "the rose-red city, half as old as time," whose rock-hewn buildings are startling relics of a remote outpost of the Greek-Roman civilization.

Among the kingdoms of Arabia, the huge southwestern Peninsula of Asia, the largest is Saudi Arabia, formed by the union of the lands of Najd in Central Arabia with the Hejaz, which adjoins the Red Sea, and possesses the chief port of Jeddah, along with the two holiest cities of Islam, Makkah and Madinah. It is obligatory for every Muslim to make a Pilgrimage to Makkah, if he can afford it, once in his lifetime. Madain Saleh, another Nabatean city in Arabia, contains tombs believed to have been carved between 100BC and CE. About half the area of Arabia is an arid, uninhabitable desert.

Farther south is Yemen, the Arabia Felix of the ancients. And, at its southwest corner guarding the approach to the Red Sea, is the Port of Aden. In the interior of the Hadhramaut, the southern coastal region in Shibam, are strange skyscraper cites, where Arab millionaires who had made their fortunes by trading overseas have lived.

The Arab Republic of Iraq, the ancient Mesopotamia, is an alluvial plain between the mighty rivers of Euphrates and Tigris. Iraq was the seat of the remarkable Sumerian culture centered at Ur, which dates back to five centuries BC. Later followed the empires of the Babylonians and Assyrians, who have built great cities like Babylon, Ashur, Nineveh and many others-the ruins of which miraculously survive to this day. Its capital Baghdad is the fabled city of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, celebrated in the Arabian Nights with wonderful stories. To the north of Baghdad is the oil rich city of Mosul with its ancient architectural wonders.

Adjacent to the continent of Asia is Africa, which is third in size among the continents of the world. Its 11,500,000 square miles of area is sparsely populated for much of Africa's surface is desert or thick equatorial forests leaving only a small area fit for habitation. It is surrounded by water on all its sides. The Sinai Peninsula forms a land bridge between the continents of Asia and Africa and has cut to construct the Suez Canal, one of the great feats of modern engineering in the world. The Suez links the Mediterranean with the Red Sea and shortens the sea route to India and Far East by nearly 6000 miles. It has become today one of the principal arteries of world trade.

The continent of Africa is made up of astonishing marvels, whose lakes, waterfalls, rivers, mountains and deserts rival any to be found on earth. It is also believed to be the real cradle of human race by many anthropologists. There are relics of ancient civilizations along the northern and northeastern coast of Africa, which are unsurpassed in its size, antiquity and number.

With the advent of Islam in Arabia came a great wave of Arab conquerors. They marked North Africa with a lasting stamp and gave it the Religion of Islam in its most permanent form. Few regions of the Muslim world can boast a finer series of mosques than the Hasan Tower at Rabat, the Kutubiya Mosque of Marrakesh, the Kairwan Mosque at Fez, the ruined tower of Mansura and the Great Mosque at the most Arab of all Arab cities Qairouan in the present day Tunisia.

At the northeastern corner of Africa is Egypt, and the country has been best described by Herodotus, the great Greek historian as the "the gift of the River Nile." For, were it not for the river and the silt it carries down from the Ethiopian highlands, Egypt would have been an empty desert. On its journey the Nile passes through nine different countries and its flow regulated by the epic creations of modern engineering the Aswan High Dam and the Assiut barrage.

Egypt's dry sunny climate has preserved for us the buildings, sculptures, paintings, tombs and records of a wonderful civilization that arose seven thousand years ago and lasted until the beginning of the Christian Era. Here we find the Great Pyramids and the mysterious Sphinx. Roman occupation and early Christianity (Coptic) have left their mark in Egypt, but as in the case of other North African countries, it is the Religion of Islam and the Arab culture that gives it it's present character.

Cairo, the capital of Egypt, is the metropolis of Arab civilization besides being the greatest city in Africa. With its fort built by Salahuddin, its busy bazaars, its tombs of the Muslim kings and the great Al-Azhar University, there is no more a happy hunting ground for the student of Islamic art and architecture. Cairo has an endless array of mosques of all centuries-from the ninth to the twentieth century. Among the mosques of Cairo the most famous are the Ibn Tulun Mosque with its exquisite arcades, the grandest of all mosques built by Sultan Hasan and the Alabaster mosque

These are but a few of the marvels of the Arab World that make the continents of Asia and Africa a rich storehouse of amazing wonders!

THE CITY OF MAKKAH:

Makkah is the spiritual capital of the Muslim world, a land made noble and blessed by Allah. It is the cradle of monotheism (faith in the worship of One and the Only God). Its history has been traced back from the very dawn of humanity to Adam, the father of mankind and the world's first prophet, who according to tradition was the builder of the Ka'bah. The original Ka'bah was destroyed by the Deluge and later re-built by Prophet Abraham and his son Ismael. According to the Holy Qur'an it is "the first temple established for the people" for the worship of One God. It was also here that Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) was born and received the first verses of Divine Revelation that was to change forever the face of the world.

The city of Makkah has several different names. It is referred in the Holy Qur'an as "Umm al-Qura" (the Mother of Cities), "Al-Balad al-Ameen" (the city of Peace or Safety), "Al-Bayt al-Ateeq" (the Ancient House), and "Al-Bayt al-Haram" (the Sacred Sanctuary). It is also known by the name of Umm al-Rahmah (the source of Mercy), "Al-Raas" (the Head: i.e. the Origin), "Al-Aqdas" (the Holy of Holies) and "Al-Muqaddassah" (the Sacrosanct).

There is no other place in the whole world, which has been so honored and respected by the Muslims as Makkah. Five times a day, hundreds of millions of Muslims all over the world turn to face the very heart of the city, which is the Ka'bah the "Al-Haram al-Shareef", the "blessed sanctuary which fives guidance to all beings". All those who turn to face Ka'bah hope that some day God will grant their prayers and the immense privilege of going to the Holy City to perform the obligatory duty of Hajj-the fifth pillar of Islam.

THE KA'BAH:

The Ka'bah or Bayt al-Haram (Sacred House of God) is almost in the shape of a cube measuring about thirteen meters in length, twelve meters across, and fifteen meters in height. It is shrouded almost down to its base in a rich black drapery, the Kiswah, on which are embroidered in gold threads, quotations from the Holy Qur'an. The Ka'bah possesses a single door, about two meters from the ground, probably as a precaution against floods. Once the pilgrim has crossed the threshold of the Sacred Sanctuary, he will catch sight of the Ka'bah in the center of the inner courtyard of the Haram, an unforgettable vision to its visitors.

The Hijr-e-Aswad is a Black Stone mounted on the Ka'bah set in silver and is at a distance of more than one meter from the ground. Pilgrims starting their circumambulation around the Ka'bah use it as a starting point to commence the rites of Hajj. According to a tradition of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), the stone was brought by Archangel Jibreel (Gabriel) from Paradise and given to Adam. It is said the first man kept it and passed it on to his descendants.

It is reported that Prophet Mohammad, on his Farewell Pilgrimage had raised his hands to the heavens and prayed: "O Allah, increase the dignity of this Thy House, and its honor and renown, and its majesty, and its eminence, on the part of those who accomplish the Hajj and the Umrah."

THE CITY OF MADINAH:

Madinah al-Munawwarah, located 447 kilometers from Makkah, is the second holiest city of Islam; beloved to all Muslims, for it was in this city that Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) found refuge after his migration from Makkah. It was from its base that the Religion of Islam expanded to Makkah and later to other parts of the world. It was also at Madinah that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was buried after he passed away from this earth along with a sizeable number of his close Companions.
In ancient times, Madinah was known as Yathrib, famous as a major halting place for the caravans bound for Yemen and Syria. The Holy Prophet called it "Madinah-al Munawwarah" (the enlightened, illustrious city). Some of the other names of Madinah are "Madinattu-n-Nabi" (City of the Prophet), and "Dar as-Salam" (the House of Peace).

The Mosque of the Prophet (Masjid-e-Nabawi), which he built with his own hands and later enlarged, is also located at Madinah. According to a tradition of the Holy Prophet Mohammad one prayer in this particular mosque is worth a ten thousand prayers anywhere else, with the exception of the Great Mosque at Makkah (where a single prayer is worth a hundred thousand recited elsewhere) and Masjid al-Aqsa where a single prayer is equivalent to one thousand prayers said elsewhere. Almost all the pilgrims who go on Hajj to Makkah make it a point to visit Madinah, which makes this city a unique wonder in the Muslim world.

MADAIN SALIH:

The ancient city of Madain Salih is located in the province of Tabuk several hundred kilometers north of Madinah in Saudi Arabia. It was a halting place for trading caravans that passed through this route from the incense-producing areas of southern Arabia to Syria, Egypt, Byzantium and other points. They dwelled in plains in the summer and cut their houses in mountains to seek refuge during the winter season. The immense stone tombs found here are believed to have carved between 100BC and 100AC and the city itself was the second city in the Nabatean Empire, after Petra in modern-day Jordan.

It is also identified as the place where a Prophet, by name Salih, mentioned in the Holy Qur'an (7:71), was sent by Allah (swt) to counsel to the wayward tribes of Thamud. The people of Thamud refused to heed his words and rejected him as a prophet. As a result, they invited on themselves the wrath of Allah and their city was destroyed by a violent convulsion, and a cry from heaven. The next day they were found lying prostrate in their dwellings and dead.

According to tradition, the tribes of Thamud challenged Prophet Salih to produce for them a big pregnant she-camel from the rocks nearby. They swore that if the Prophet brought the miracle to pass they would all believe in him. Prophet Salih prayed to Allah and his prayers were heard. The rocks shuddered as if in labor and a she-camel came forth. Some among the Thamudites believed in Salih and accepted him as a Prophet, whereas, the majority among them rejected him. They lamed the camel and killed her. It is said that her young foal came forth from her womb unharmed and vanished into a rock. The great rock still stands as a landmark on the western side of the valley, its summit close to a thousand feet.

THE PLAIN OF ARAFAT:

The gathering of millions of Hajj pilgrims on the ninth of Dhul-Hijjah on the plains of Arafat, near Makkah presents an amazing spectacle to an onlooker. It is the meeting place of the Pilgrims from different parts of the Muslim world who annually come to perform the Hajj, or the Great Pilgrimage at Makkah, which is enjoined on every Muslim (who can afford it) once in a lifetime. The "Standing at Arafat" is the chief rite of the Hajj. When asked about this rite, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) replied: "The Hajj is Arafat." The Hajj Pilgrims spend the entire day in prayers, reading the chapters from the Holy Qur'an and invoking God in their quest of Absolute Forgiveness.